Auto-discovery of packet islands over GMPLS-UNI

Abstract

The present disclosure generally relates to the support of optical connection setup. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a technique of supporting provision of a connection via a data communication network of an optical network between packet network islands. A method embodiment comprises establishing a Border Gateway Protocol-Link State, BGP-LS, connection via the DCN between a first edge node of the first packet network island and a BGP-LS node in the optical network.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of supporting provision of a connection, via a data communication network (DCN) of an optical network, between a first packet network island and a second packet network island, the method comprising:
 establishing a Border Gateway Protocol-Link State (BGP-LS) connection, via the DCN, between a first edge node of the first packet network island and a BGP-LS node in the optical network, 
 wherein establishing the BGP-LS connection, via the DCN, between the first edge node of the first packet network island and the BGP-LS node in the optical network comprises: 
 configuring, in the first edge node, an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the BGP-LS node in the optical network; 
 configuring, in the BGP-LS node in the optical network, the IP address of the GMPLS UNI in the first edge node as the IP address of a BGP-LS neighbor; and 
 providing, by the DCN, a connection between the first edge node and the BGP-LS node in the optical network, 
 wherein the first packet network island and the second packet network island are connected with the optical network by means of a Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching User-to-Network Interface (GMPLS UNI), respectively. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising establishing a BGP-LS connection via the DCN between a second edge node of the second packet network island and the BGP-LS node in the optical network. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein, in case of a routed DCN, the connection provided by the DCN is based on a Generic Routing Encapsulation tunnel. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the BGP-LS node is co-located with a core node or a controller in the optical network. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 2 , further comprising distributing, via the established BGP-LS connection, link Network Layer Reachability Information (NLRI). 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 5 , wherein distributing the link NLRI is subject to policy configuration in the BGP-LS node in the optical network. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 5 , wherein each link NLRI comprises router identification of one of the first and second edge nodes in a local node descriptors field. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 :
 wherein the first packet network island and the second packet network island are connected with the optical network by means of a Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching User-to-Network Interface (GMPLS UNI), respectively; 
 wherein the link NLRI further comprises Internet Protocol (IP) address of the GMPLS UNI in the one of the first and second edge node in a link descriptors field. 
 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 8 , wherein the distributing comprises extending the link NLRI to carry a reference to the IP address of the GMPLS UNI in the one of the first and second edge node. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the reference is a predetermined value in a protocol ID field of the link NLRI. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10 :
 wherein at least one of the first and second packet network islands comprises a Network Management System (NMS) or Service-Defined-Networking (SDN) controller; 
 wherein the NMS or SDN controller is configured to recognize a predetermined value and bind the IP address to a router ID comprised in the link NLRI. 
 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 11 , wherein the NMS or SDN controller is configured to store the binding of the IP address and a router ID comprised in the link NLRI. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 1 :
 wherein the method is performed in an edge node in one of the two packet network islands; 
 wherein the establishing comprises establishing the BGP-LS connection via the DCN with a BGP-LS node in the optical network. 
 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 1 :
 wherein the method is performed in a BGP-LS node in the optical network; 
 wherein the establishing comprises establishing the BGP-LS connection via the DCN with an edge node in at least one of the two packet network islands. 
 
     
     
       15. A non-transitory computer readable recording medium storing a computer program product for supporting provision of a connection, via a data communication network (DCN) of an optical network, between a first packet network island and a second packet network island, the computer program product comprising software instructions which, when run on processing circuitry of a computing device, causes the computing device to:
 establish a Border Gateway Protocol-Link State (BGP-LS) connection, via the DCN, between a first edge node of the first packet network island and a BGP-LS node in the optical network, wherein the BGP-LS connection is established by: 
 configuring, in the first edge node, an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the BGP-LS node in the optical network; 
 configuring, in the BGP-LS node in the optical network, the IP address of the GMPLS UNI in the first edge node as the IP address of a BGP-LS neighbor; and 
 providing, by the DCN, a connection between the first edge node and the BGP-LS node in the optical network, 
 wherein the first packet network island and the second packet network island are connected with the optical network by means of a Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching User-to-Network Interface (GMPLS UNI), respectively. 
 
     
     
       16. An edge node for supporting provision of a connection, via a data communication network (DCN) of an optical network, between two packet network islands, the edge node comprising:
 processing circuitry; 
 memory containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the edge node is operative to: 
 establish a Border Gateway Protocol-Link State (BGP-LS) connection, via the DCN, with a BGP-LS node in the optical network, wherein each of the two packet network islands is connected with the optical network by means of a Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching User-to-Network Interface (GMPLS UNI), wherein the instructions are such that the edge node is operative to: 
 configure an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the BGP-LS node in the optical network; and 
 connect the edge node with the BGP-LS node in the optical network, via a connection provided by the DCN, when, in the BGP-LS node in the optical network, the IP address of the GMPLS UNI in the edge node is configured as the IP address of a BGP-LS neighbor. 
 
     
     
       17. The edge node of  claim 16 , wherein the edge node is in at least one of the two packet network islands. 
     
     
       18. The edge node of  claim 16 , wherein in case of a routed DCN, the connection provided by the DCN is based on a Generic Routing Encapsulation tunnel. 
     
     
       19. The edge node of  claim 16 , wherein the instructions are such that the edge node is operative to distribute, via the established BGP-LS connection, link Network Layer Reachability Information (NLRI). 
     
     
       20. The edge node of  claim 19 , wherein distributing the link NLRI is subject to policy configuration in the BGP-LS node in the optical network. 
     
     
       21. The edge node of  claim 19 , wherein the link NLRI comprises router ID of the edge node in the local node descriptors field. 
     
     
       22. The edge node of  claim 21 :
 wherein each of the two packet network islands is connected with the optical network by means of a Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching User-to-Network Interface (GMPLS UNI); 
 wherein the link NLRI further comprises the IP address of the GMPLS UNI in the edge node in the link descriptors field. 
 
     
     
       23. The edge node of  claim 22 , wherein the instructions are such that the edge node is operative to extend the link NLRI to carry a reference to the IP address of the GMPLS UNI in the edge node. 
     
     
       24. The edge node of  claim 23 , wherein the reference is a predetermined value in a protocol ID field of the link NLRI. 
     
     
       25. A Border Gateway Protocol-Link State (BGP-LS) node in an optical network for supporting provision of a connection, via a data communication network (DCN) of an optical network, between two packet network islands, the BGP-LS node comprising:
 processing circuitry; 
 memory containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the BGP-LS mode is operative to establish a Border Gateway Protocol-Link State (BGP-LS) connection via the DCN with an edge node, wherein the BGP-LS connection is established by: 
 configuring, in the first edge node, an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the BGP-LS node in the optical network; 
 configuring, in the BGP-LS node in the optical network, the IP address of the GMPLS UNI in the first edge node as the IP address of a BGP-LS neighbor; and 
 providing, by the DCN, a connection between the first edge node and the BGP-LS node in the optical network, wherein each of the two packet network islands is connected with the optical network by means of a Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching User-to-Network Interface (GMPLS UNI). 
 
     
     
       26. The BGP-LS node of  claim 25 , wherein the edge node is in at least one of the two packet network islands. 
     
     
       27. The BGP-LS node of  claim 25 , wherein the instructions are such that the BGP-LS node is operative to:
 configure an Internet Protocol (IP) address of a Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching User-to-Network Interface (GMPLS UNI) in the edge node as the IP address of a BGP-LS neighbor; and 
 connect the BGP-LS node with the edge node via a connection provided by the DCN.